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Durarara!!
Baccano! in the modern day cityscape.
The Series in a Sentence
Enter Ikebukuro - the town that holds endless possibilities, Russian Sushi, urban legends and gangs colliding against normal, everyday life with Mikado Ryuugamine, a high-schooler moving to Ikebukuro to set out on his own from his ordinary country life and meets quite a few people; like a bartender-dressed juggernaut to a mysterious motorcycle rider in 24 interesting episodes.
What I Liked
I cannot stress how much I loved the buildup of the beginning. Being introduced to such a wide world makes the audience identify with Mikado’s intrigue and loss for words. The first arc had a steady climb towards the climax at the first meeting of The Dollars and I loved the overall theme of being unashamed of what or who you are. Even if Seiji and his sister were completely crazy, I appreciated them as villains of love. The second arc had plenty of reveals and twists that were blindsiders, especially the identity reveal of Sonohara Anri. How well each character makes up the overall story makes it amazing for those reasons alone. But the addition of well-placed plot twists, and the occasional odes to Baccano!, made me love what I was seeing more and more. The slice-of-life style combined with fantasy is what sets this anime apart. For a 24-episode first season to grip an audience the way it did with so many characters takes a skill that I’ve rarely seen in anime recently. And for that, I’m so glad I finally sat down to experience it.
What I Didn’t Like
The careful, yet fast pacing, of the first arc of DRRR!! seemed to create a problem for the second arc. Kida and Anri played much bigger roles, which was nice to see, but the conflict of their secret identities felt dragged out, especially with Izaya pulling the strings in the background. Consistency and pacing led me to believe that the climax of the season would have involved a quicker meeting between Mikado, Kida, and Anri as their true selves and a confrontation leading up to Izaya and Celty’s missing head - but it didn’t happen that way. The aims of the villains/antagonists is what really bothers me. Namie Yagiri loved her brother (too much) and wanted to get rid of Mika Harima and anyone who knew about her human experiments, but that leaves questions. For example, what was the purpose of the human experiments? Izaya Orihara, the information broker, seemed to just have an interest in inner human conflict and suffering. That makes for an interesting character, but nothing as concrete as the motivations of the main and supporting cast - or that could’ve been the aim all along with his character. It could’ve been a huge focus for the creators to make antagonists that have goals shrouded in mystery that we can’t see. Maybe more is revealed in the second season, but I haven’t got around to it yet.
Overall Feelings
Even with the second arc of the anime being underwhelming in my opinion, it wasn’t anything to sleep on. From Shizuo’s clash in the park to the final revelations of the 3 friends - it was a fitting end to the first act of this series. The focus on different characters makes it an enjoyable watch for someone looking to dive into a world with discovery around every corner in the city of Ikebukuro - with the familiar faces of Isaac and Maria from Baccano!, which was a beautiful touch that had me smiling ear-to-ear. Yes, I really like Baccano! Despite the shortcomings that I saw with pacing, I recommend this to people looking for a supernatural vibe in everyday life. If you liked Baccano!, I can guarantee that you’ll like this. Nothing like the supernatural to make the everyday extraordinary. Almost makes you want to start a gang that will change the world for the better.